


a sun swallowed by darkness

by cosmicallybrownie



Category: Satan and Me (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Complete, F/M, Food mention, Pirate AU, Slow Burn, Smut, Swearing, alcohol mention, blood mention, but everything that does happen is consensual, death mention, it has some heavy stuff but its a pirate au, threats of sexual assault, violence mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 12:25:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11402370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicallybrownie/pseuds/cosmicallybrownie
Summary: The king’s daughter was captured by a band of pirates hungry for ransom money and information about the kingdom. In a dark cell tinged with uncertainly and fear, Natalie’s interrogator, Lucifer, was tasked with coaxing information from her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [astarisms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astarisms/gifts).



The deafening scrape of wood against wood jarred Natalie out of her thoughts, and she tried to slow her breathing when she caught the telltale sight of black colors flying above the attacking ship. Her father had assured her that the short jaunt across the wide expanse of ocean would be brief and uneventful, but the current situation was wiping away all hope of his promises.

Natalie was returning from brokering peace with a nearby kingdom that was eager to sink its claws into her father’s land, but her proposed treaties of trade that were laced with heavy generosity soothed their war hungry leaders. The politics had left the princess tired and eager to return home, and Natalie had left on the very next nondescript sailing vessel that docked bearing her father’s flag.

The small ship was no grand prize, and so far, the waters had been calm. Natalie had spent the majority of her time below decks, penning letters to the contacts she had made and noting all the tactics the nobles had bargained with. The expanse of the ocean around her made her feel lost and small, and she was eager to have her feet on the solid ground once again.

However, the present situation seemed to offer another obstacle to her journey home, this time in the form of pirates, rather than the pompous nobles she had spent weeks trying to make dealings with. She watched as ropes manned by bulks of men heaved the trading vessel closer and closer to the looming pirate ship, and for a moment Natalie forgot to feel fear.

When the first pirates threw their bodies onto the safe haven of her ship, Natalie suddenly became all too aware of her fear.

* * *

Her rough handling up the stairs had Natalie torn between shouting curses at the man, and whimpering in fear over what he would do to her. The brute that hauled her onto the deck shoved her into the lineup of the crew of the shipping vessel, or what was left of them. Several bodies littered the deck, bleeding into the bleached wood and groaning as the last minutes of life was drained from them.

With them was the ship’s captain, the gentle gray man who had helped Natalie settle in, and a choked gasp escaped her lips when she saw him, pale and dead, amongst the chaos. His thin lips were suspended open in a warning that would never come.

Then a man Natalie assumed to be the captain of the pirate ship stepped forward. He was remarkably pretty for a pirate, and his blue eyes caught the reflections of the waves that surrounded him. His dark blue coat swept behind him when he walked down the line, the movement full of deadly grace. Malice burned in his expression when he stopped in front of Natalie, ignoring the rest of the men around her.

“The king’s daughter. I heard you were far from home, princess.” He grabbed a strand of her hair, “I’ve heard talk that your red hair grants miracles.”

“N-no.” She wished she didn’t sound so weak, but Natalie didn’t dare breath for fear of invoking more anger.

“Of course not, but I’d rather be granted a ransom that wishes.” He dropped her hair and circled Natalie like a hungry predator, “A rich ransom, I’m sure, could be bartered for the king’s daughter.”

His gaze raked down her body hungrily and Natalie fought to keep still under the scrutiny. She didn’t want to appear weak by shrinking under the weight of his inspection, but the malevolent grin teasing the corners of his mouth dripped with danger.  

His tongue skirted along his lower lip, and Natalie dropped her gaze from him. She could hear him click his tongue, and then his finger was under her chin, tilting Natalie’s face up towards him. A golden tooth sparkled in the sunlight, matching the hoops in his ears, and Natalie recoiled from the foul smell of him that washed over her from their proximity.

Something dark glimmered in his eyes, and he gestured vaguely over his shoulder to his crew, “Take her. Kill the rest.”

“No!” The protest was torn from Natalie’s lips as another man tossed her over his shoulder, disorientating her in the motion. She could hear steel tearing through flesh and the screams of her father’s men as their lives ran red around them. The sight of the ashen navigator’s face on the deck made Natalie’s stomach turn, but her screams were lost among the crews’ as she was hauled towards the unknown of the pirate ship.

* * *

Natalie’s voice had long since gone hoarse from unanswered screaming, and the heave of the boat below her feet had her bent over the bucket in the corner more than once. The brig was dark, and Natalie had no sunlight to gauge how long she had been in the cage. Her hands dug into the metal bars, and the slippers on her feet stuck to the floor of her cell.

She didn’t want to think about what was coating it.

The whole area smelled like the overwhelming stench of death, and she shuddered at what – or who – could be hidden in the corners of the room, obscured by the dark. With one more pitiful shake, Natalie stepped away from the bars, trying to keep her breathing shallow to avoid the smell.

The hot press of tears behind her eyes was interrupted by the sounds of boots scuffing, then the angry tilt of voices grew closer. Lanterns held up by faceless men illuminated the brig, and Natalie scrambled up from her lean against the wall just in time to meet the captain. The fire from the candles caught in his curls and he unlocked the heavy latch with practiced precision.

She wondered how many people he had held captive down here.

“Bring her to the deck,” was his simple command, and grunts of affirmation passed among the men.

She felt large hands grab her arms in bruising grips, and they shoved her gracelessly towards the stairs in the corner. Natalie drank in the expanse of sky above her when she was finally above deck again, gasping in deep breaths of fresh air. She felt like she could finally breathe again, despite the choking presence of the men.

The sunset dusted the horizon, casting its light on a tall man that stood next to the captain. He was in every way the captain’s opposite, taller and broader, with dark features that contrasted Michael’s bright ones. His whole frame radiated power, and Natalie found herself afraid of what his presence could mean.

Michael smiled down at Natalie in the dangerous way that only a cocky man was capable of, and the man beside him stood so still that Natalie might have thought he was made of stone.

“Thought I’d introduce you proper, Lucifer. This is our very own princess.” Michael made a show of shoving Natalie towards Lucifer, laughing when she flinched at his touch.

Lucifer’s expression betrayed nothing, not even curiosity as he assessed the girl, nodding, “I’m sure she’ll be easy to break, Michael.”

Michael huffed a noise of amusement but shook his head, “Now don’t be too rough on her, she’s full of all sorts of information we need.” He patted Natalie’s cheek, “Isn’t that right, princess?”

Natalie looked up at Michael with so much hatred in her expression that Lucifer was almost impressed, but he was careful to conceal it. After all, as the ship’s first mate and interrogator, it would be disastrous to show any tells.

“So I’m to prod her for information?” Lucifer already knew what his brother wanted, but it was better to receive verbalized confirmation than risk the captain’s violent disapproval when he was denied his desires.

“Prod away, first mate.”

The brothers exchanged a sharp nod and grasped each other’s forearms before turning to their own business. Lucifer took Natalie’s arm and lead her back down the stairs, back to what Natalie swore was her own Hell, and as a man named for the devil himself as her guide, it might as well be.

* * *

 

After letting Natalie spend a lonely night in a humid cell, Lucifer found her again in the morning. He came carrying a lantern and she had never been so thankful to see light. The flickering candle caught on every dangerous curve of Lucifer’s face, but his expression remained as emotionless as yesterday.

Before he could even ask a question, Natalie shouted, “My father will be looking for me. He has men in all corners of the ocean who are trained to find and destroy pirates.” She spat the last word like a curse, anger furrowing her brow.  

“Your ship wasn’t scheduled to arrive for another fortnight.” Something like triumph curled his lips, “He cannot miss you if he doesn’t know you’re missing, and I’m sure he won’t since none of the crew harboring you survived.”

“When my father finds me, none of you shall survive.”

The shouted threat did nothing to Lucifer’s disposition, and instead he leaned closer to her, grabbing the bars on her cage, “They died because of you, you know. All those innocent men, slaughtered like sacrificial lambs for you, princess.”

Natalie matched Lucifer’s quiet, intense tone, staring into his eyes that seemed more gold than brown, “I did not kill them. Their blood is not on my hands, it’s on  _yours._ Murderer!”

Amusement played across Lucifer’s face, and he stepped back from the bars to pull something from the bag he carried down with him, “Here is paper and charcoal. When I return, I expect the names of ships in your father’s fleet.”

And with that, he left, leaving the lantern with her.

* * *

She did not make a list as requested, and Lucifer stormed out of the brig, his silence deafening. He took the lantern, leaving her with a stale chunk of break and the hard press of loneliness.

* * *

The flash of a lantern had Natalie scrambling to her feet, and before Lucifer could even set it down, she was against the bars, her tone demanding, “I want a bucket of water and clean clothes.”

“Quite a request from a prisoner,” Lucifer said, leaning his weight against the old iron bars. They groaned under him, but he didn’t seem afraid that they would give.

“I’m a princess,” Natalie offered in way of explanation. “It’s been three days, and the smell down here is enough to drive me mad.”

After taking his time glancing around the brig, Lucifer returned his gaze to Natalie, “Have you ever considered that maybe that’s the point, princess? You aren’t supposed to be comfortable.”

“If I was more comfortable, I might be able to remember the names of the fleet.” She lifted the end of her sentence, and it was almost teasing in its lightness.

Lucifer was not entertained by her attempt at games, and looked pointedly down at her, “I’m not very inclined to believe you. You haven’t exactly been an obliging prisoner.”

“I promise.” Natalie said, almost like a plea. Her fingers brushed against his when she gripped the bars below his hands, “I’ll make you the damn list if you let me wash myself.”

He lowered his face to hers, “Promises mean nothing to pirates, princess. You need to offer me something better than words.”

“Oh, just give me the damn parchment.” Natalie conceded, pushing his hands off the bars and crossing hers over her chest.

“’Atta girl.”

* * *

Lucifer’s sudden presence caught Natalie off guard, as she was too engrossed in her sorrows to notice the lantern light the space around her. She hurried to her feet and wiped the tears from her eyes roughly, feeling the grit of sand on her skin scratch her cheeks. He had come bearing a bucket of warm water and a pile of something she assumed were clothes, and her eagerness to wash herself beat out the tears that threatened the corners of her eyes.

The leftover emotional display made Lucifer’s eyebrows draw together in a look Natalie knew couldn’t possibly be concern, and she turned away from him. When she did not acknowledge him, Lucifer fished a key from his pocket and unlocked the cell door. He left the water and the clothing on the floor and left her alone without a single word.

While she scrubbed grime and sand from her skin, she had never been so grateful for the lantern, and for silence. The linen shirt Lucifer had brought her almost stunk worse than the tattered dress Natalie had arrived in, and the breeches were hopelessly big on her, but she was grateful for them all the same. The new clothing almost felt like a layer of armor against Lucifer’s prodding questions about her father’s navy and reserves.

She watched the candle in the lantern flicker until there was nothing left of it, and its own wax was its undoing.

* * *

It seemed Natalie had just fallen asleep when she was being woken up again. Her back ached from too many nights on the hard floor, but at least now her old dress separated her from the sticky unknown of the floorboards.

Lucifer’s features were an unwelcome sight as she blinked sleep from her eyes, despite the handsomeness of his jawline and expression.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he greeted, his tone loud and uncharacteristically happy. A metal cup in his hand was filled with a brown liquid, and he banged it against the metal bars in Natalie’s face, as if he hadn’t done enough to wake her. “I see you’ve changed.”

“These clothes hardly smell better,” Natalie said, her tone groggy from sleep.

“I wouldn’t expect them to, considering the previous owner died in those rags.” Lucifer took a calm drink while Natalie gasped in indignation.

“You’re sick,” Natalie spat, and shuddered at the implication of his words. She was sure he was employing another one of his tactics to get information out of her, but the cold impression of death still weighed on her skin.

Lucifer blew out the lantern and kicked the bars by her feet, “At least my clothes are my own, princess.”

* * *

“That’s enough for tonight,” Lucifer finally grunted after what seemed like an eternity of questions. He wanted to know details of her father’s navy that Natalie had never learned, numbers that didn’t concern her, and information about names she didn’t recognize.

Once in his frustration, Lucifer had struck the bars and hissed something about a  _useless girl_  that had Natalie scampering away from his intimidating form. She had bit her lip so hard to hide her whimper that she tasted blood.

When he summoned her back into the light, his expression had softened when he handed her a handkerchief. It was the cleanest thing she had seen since being trapped on the damned ship, and she was almost afraid to dirty it with her blood.

“Tell me about your brother, princess.” Lucifer tried again, his tone so gentle she didn’t recognize it.

Natalie drew in a sharp breath when she pressed the cloth to her bleeding lip, “You first.”

Lucifer let out a bark of laughter, and complied, to Natalie’s surprise, “You’ve met him, the captain. Michael’s a real piece of work, and a right bastard in all senses of the word. Good ol’ Dad always tried to explain me and Michael’s differences away based on our mums.”

“And who were your parents?” Natalie asked, curiosity beating out her caution.

Something dark passed over his face, “Never knew me mum, probably some port lass he didn’t have the gall to pay for. And I’m sure you’ve heard of my father. Called himself Jehovah and fancied himself ordained by the divine powers to rule the seas.”

Natalie felt the blood drain from her face at the mention of Jehovah. ‘The Maker of Death,’ they called him in the ports, a name so feared it was whispered as though he might hear. He was known for his extensive reach across the blue seas, and for his extreme cruelty. No one that set foot on his ship had survived, and he killed all he came across, marking their bodies as his victims with two bloody lines carved into their necks.

“Where,” Natalie gasped, breathlessly, “Where is he now?”

Lucifer shrugged and turned away from her, snuffing out the lantern as he did, “I killed him.”

* * *

“Don’t,” Natalie practically begged, the sound of her own voice shamefully desperate in her ears.

Lucifer paused, turning towards Natalie with an eyebrow cocked high. The look was purposefully dashing, as though he’d been waiting all this time for Natalie to beg him for something besides her freedom.

“Don’t what?” He asked, like he was playing a game with a caged animal. His tone was dark and dangerous, and Natalie swallowed the fear that was threatening to rise.

“Don’t take the lantern. Please, the darkness will drive me mad.” She could no longer gauge the passing of time and days, and the deafening darkness unsettled her to the deepest points of her soul. Sometimes she swore the warm creatures running around her feet were her own imagination leeching out into the darkness, and she couldn’t stand the uncertainty.

Lucifer watched Natalie for a passive moment, searching for any insincerities hidden in her open features. She was completely at his mercy, but she could have wept when he removed the candle from the lantern and jammed it into a metal fixing in the wall.

She might be alone, but at least she had a break from the darkness.

* * *

 

The next morning a small candle and a few matches were delivered with Natalie’s breakfast. She burned the tapered wax until nothing remained.

Her following meal consisted of bread, and another candle.

* * *

 

Natalie was already anticipating Lucifer’s arrival from the sound of footsteps, but it was Michael who opened the door to the brig and stood before Natalie. His gold earrings winked at her in the candlelight, and he unlocked the door smoothly before inviting her out in a broad, sweeping motion. More men followed him in, and she could feel fear creep down her spine like cold water.

Natalie stepped forward cautiously, scanning the faces of the men Michael brought with him for Lucifer. She couldn’t identify anyone in the darkness, and the search was made useless when Michael snuffed out the candle burning on the small stool in her cell with his fingers. He tutted a reprimand when he carried it out with him, and his fingers dug into the skin of her arm harder than necessary when he shoved her up the stairs.

The aggressive rays of the sun felt like needles when Natalie squinted in the light of day. It had been far too long since her skin had known the sun, and she looked pale and sickly under its careful regard. Her vivid green eyes were hazy when she looked around, and the implications of her break from the brig were frightening.

Had her father learned of her kidnapping? Had he refused to pay the ransom? Were they leading her up to kill her after all?

The bloody scenarios blurred together in her mind and she felt a shudder of panic wash over her from being uninformed. Being left in the dark, in all manners of the expression, was wearing on Natalie, and for once since she set foot on the damned ship, she wanted to know what was happening.

A nameless man wrapped splintering ropes around Natalie’s wrists and she winced at the pain before gathering her strength to shout, “What? What do you bloody want from me?”

A wry smile curved over Michael’s lips and he strolled towards her, but his attention was drawn to a door being thrown open. The old wooden door groaned under the motion, and Lucifer stormed out, anger playing clearly on his face. A long black coat was thrown over his usual loose white shirt, and he stalked aggressively over to Michael.

Lucifer’s eyebrows were knit together violently as he stabbed a finger into his brother’s chest, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Michael?”

The captain stepped back from his brother and dusted his hand over his chest, mindful of the gold chains handing there, as if he was brushing away the memory of Lucifer’s touch. The footfalls of his boots seemed deafening when he stalked back towards Natalie to stand behind her and shove at her shoulders so hard that she fell to her knees.

“Why, Lucifer, I’m merely showing our princess the view,” Michael explained, smiling like the dashing rogue he pretended to be.

Natalie’s shoulders curved in as she tried to make her tiny frame even smaller, and Lucifer could see the redness that had already started to form around her wrists. Something red hot bloomed in Lucifer’s lungs when Michael knelt and grabbed Natalie’s face, forcing her to look at him.

“Bet you’ve never seen anything as breathtaking, have you, princess?” Michael leered, watching Natalie grow more uncomfortable.

Her words were venom when she spoke, “I’ve never seen anything uglier in my life.”

She could have offended Michael less by spitting on his shined boots, and his bruising grip on her face tightened enough to reopen an old cut on her cheek, “You insolent little –“

“Enough!” Lucifer shouted over the swell of the sea and Michael’s rage, “She’s my prisoner, and I’ll see to how she’s treated.”

Michael stood at the outburst, roughly dragging Natalie to her feet as well, “Are you forgetting who the captain is, little brother?” His tone was condescending, and Lucifer’s lip curled at the insult.

“You wear that title like you earned it.” Lucifer said, shoving Michael aside and standing between his brother and Natalie, “I haven’t forgotten who drove the blade through our father’s heart, and neither has the crew.”

Lucifer’s hands were far gentler than Michael’s when he escorted Natalie back below decks, and when he locked the door to her cell, she didn’t miss his sigh of resignation.

* * *

“Thank you,” Natalie finally said after the silence had stretched on far too long.

Lucifer sighed and leaned his back against the bars, not looking at Natalie, “You don’t owe me your thanks, princess.”

He left the lantern in place when he turned to leave, and he almost missed her soft, “I know,” amidst the squeaking floorboards of the stairs.

* * *

A broad man named Ipos informed Natalie that the ship had made port, and Lucifer had gone ashore to spend his night with brandy and women he wouldn’t remember the faces of. Her solemn nod was met with a relaxed laugh, and the man handed her a deck of cards.

“Nothing worse than an empty ship, and I doubt you’d like to be alone either.” The simple statement was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes, and Natalie nodded rapidly, not trusting her voice to speak. “Well then,” the man continued, “Shuffle those while I search for another candle or four, too bloody dark down here to tell my aces from spit.”

They passed cards between bars for what felt like hours, and for the first time Natalie had something to think about other than her mortality when she sat in her familiar cage.

* * *

Lucifer leaned his pounding head against the cool bars of the brig and groaned, leaving Natalie with a large grin on her face.

“Heard you got some use out of those land legs,” Lucifer tapped on the bars in response and Natalie continued, “Maybe a little too much.”

He let out a heavy breath and straightened, “Heard you cheated Ipos into half rations for a week, as he’ll be bringing you his bread every day.”

“I did not cheat!” Natalie practically shouted, bringing her face close to Lucifer’s, “I won fair and square. And I wouldn’t have to ask for it if you didn’t have me going hungry every day.”

“Prison isn’t pleasant, princess.” Lucifer almost sang, his face level with Natalie’s and she let out a huff at his words.

“You’ve used that line before.”

He brushed a finger along the outside of her petulantly folded arms, “And I see you’ve definitely taken it to heart.”

She hummed in response before returning to her stool in the corner, “Any time you want to send Ipos by, he would be most welcome. He was much nicer than you.”

Lucifer pushed away from the bars harshly and sent a withering glare Natalie’s way, then stomped up the steps mumbling something she didn’t catch. She frowned at the spot he had practically ran from, and wished he hadn’t left so soon.

* * *

Lucifer handed the dried meat to Natalie through the bars of the cell discreetly, and the pinched look of concentration written in his brow compelled her to silence. The gesture was not unwelcome, and Natalie feared he would take it back if she spoke.

The kindness almost made her rethink her planned course of action for the evening.

Almost.

He didn’t waste his time on questions for which she had no answers, he just leaned his shoulder against the dirty cell that had caged Natalie for too many days to count, and watched her.  To Natalie’s credit, she did not shrink under the inspection. Instead, she watched the candlelight play shy on his face, lighting up his features and casting dark shadows on the sharp angles of his jaw. His eyes reflected gold in the darkness, and they read intensity in the color.

The corner of Natalie’s lips turned up, and Lucifer stood abruptly, almost upending the lantern next to him in his haste. A sharp gasp of surprise was stolen from Natalie’s throat at the motion, and he paused long enough for her to reach for him through the bars.

“Don’t go,” she begged, grabbing a handful of the loose linen shirt that Lucifer wore, like it was her only lifeline to the world.

He froze in response, his lips parting as if to speak, but he still said nothing. Instead, he settled his hand over Natalie’s, and she could have groaned at the mere warmth of him compared to the cold that had settled in her bones from the chilled cell. The contact alone could have buckled her knees, and after knowing nothing but hardness and the bite of loneliness for too long, she ached to lean into the touch.

So she did, for just a moment, Natalie let herself enjoy the quiet relief of another person. She carefully schooled away the relief after a breath, and hoped her eyes were wild and convincing enough to warrant pulling him closer. Their chests brushed through the bars and Natalie squeezed his hand while her other hand reached towards his pocket to take the key she knew would be there.

His eyes were fixed on hers when she felt the cold metal of the key against her fingertips, and with it tucked against the palm of her hand, she slid a finger up Lucifer’s firm chest. It was as if he was carved from breathing stone, but when Natalie took her bottom lip between her teeth he came back to life.

Lucifer practically threw himself away from the bars, curling his fingers into fists at his sides with a sharp exhale. “I-I’m going, princess.”

Lucifer paced the floor of his cabin that night, cursing Natalie until his fingers stopped tingling.

* * *

The key slide soundlessly into the lock, and Natalie twisted it gratefully until the latch released. She stumbled when the door swung open, her cheek still pressed up against the bars in her efforts to reach the padlock. The whine of the door opening had Natalie tensing and staring up at the darkness, waiting for Michael to come punish her, his smile as sharp as a sword.

She waited for several heartbeats, and when no one came, she crept out of the cell, following the familiar path she had seen Lucifer take countless times. The door to the deck was heavy when she swung it open, and her muscles strained in protest after their period of disuse.

The sweet nighttime air filled her lungs before she even saw the sky, but it was enough to bring hot tears to her eyes. Natalie blinked them away quickly so she could look up to the navy sky, countless stars blinking down at her, sworn to secrecy. The deck was cold under her bare feet, but she had grown accustomed to the sway of the ship below her, and she made her way to the edge carefully.

The sea was violent below her, spraying heavy gusts of salt water up at her face, but Natalie welcomed it so wholly that she had to clasp a hand over her mouth to keep her giggles from spilling out into the night air.

She hadn’t really considered what she would do when she had escaped, the darkness of the night obscured the horizon, but she doubted they were close to land. The air around her was colder than the humid brig, and the ocean spray was enough to make her shiver, so jumping overboard and swimming seemed out of the question.

Keeping her eyes on the canting waves seemed like her only option for the moment, and she almost wished for a siren to pop out of the water and sing her sage advice about escape. The tides offered no such luck, and Natalie sighed, resting her elbows on the edge and leaning against the side. Exhaustion crept up her spine like a shudder, and the sudden press of warm hands against her shoulders startled Natalie so violently that she feared she might tumble overboard.

After the initial shock, Natalie opened her mouth to protest, but she spun and looked into the wild eyes of Lucifer, who quickly pressed his fingers to her lips to silence her.

His voice was rough when he lowly said, “Watchman’s asleep in the crow’s nest, best be glad you didn’t wake him.”

After a beat, he dropped his hand from Natalie’s face, but kept the other wrapped around her waist. She told herself she would have shoved him away if not for the cold. Somehow he emitted heat, even in the cold night air with a loose shirt that exposed the languid line of his neck to his chest.

“I feel like I can breathe for the first time,” Natalie admitted, not caring that she was leaning into Lucifer once again. The night and adrenaline had collapsed on her, and his thick arm around her waist kept her grounded.

Lucifer sighed, a long sound in the empty air, “Whenever you want to come up during the night, tell me, princess. I’ll take you.”

“I’m dying to see the sun, Lucifer.” The honesty of her admission made Lucifer’s throat tight and he frowned. Of course she did, a vibrant girl like Natalie couldn’t be kept in cage. The poor girl would wither away into nothing.

“I know, but if Michael sees you…” He trailed off, unable to finish the thought, but Natalie understood the dangers in the mere implication, and all the protests turned to unshed tears she would bury later.

For now, Natalie’s focus was on the sky, drinking in the constellations like she might never see them again, “I forgot how beautiful it is.” The sight of the sky unfolding in stars like a treasure map made Natalie ache with homesickness, and she felt so small beneath its reach that she feared the vastness would swallow her whole, and there would be none left to mourn her.

A shudder tore through Natalie’s slight frame, and Lucifer wrapped his arm tighter around her. His voice was quiet when he asked, “Are you afraid of me?”

Natalie turned towards the sea, watching the waves crest quietly, and after a long moment she sighed, “No.”

* * *

“How did you get that scar?” Natalie asked, trailing her fingertips along a raised patch on Lucifer’s forearm.

“Tell you what, princess,” Lucifer said, dragging the chair over to the front of Natalie’s cell, “I’ll tell you a story, and in exchange you answer a question for me.” He sat down heavily in the chair, leaning back in a show of casualty. His knees were close enough to the iron bars that the fabric of his breeches brushed along them when he bobbed his knees.

She sat across from him, iron bars and eternity separating them, and nodded.

“This scar,” Lucifer began, leaning forward on the opposite elbow so he could display the mark clearly, “this is from my early days of swordsmanship. Michael and I would spend hours above decks, performing drill after drill, as ordered by dear old Dad.” The momentary humor in Lucifer’s face faded into something darker, something sadder. Natalie absently stroked her thumb over the white scar while he spoke, soothing a wound Lucifer forgot was still hurting.

“He would punish Michael when I bested him, telling him that he was the older son and should be able to land killing blows on me with ease. I got in one too many hits one day, and Dad dug his fingers into a cut on Michael’s shoulder and called him weak, so the next time Dad called the start, I let my form go sloppy. I let Michael dig the iron sword into my arm deep enough to make me fall to my knees, and Dad smiled.” He ended the story with a dry laugh that spoke volumes of heartbreak, and Natalie’s face was pinched with concern at the dismissal.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t –“ Natalie apologized, regret pooling at her feet for being bold enough to ask. Lucifer’s warm hand momentarily covered Natalie’s on his scar, and he met her gaze, resolution melting Natalie’s guilt.

“Now,” Lucifer sighed, reclining once again in the groaning wooden chair, “how heavily are the store rooms underneath the castle guarded?”


	2. Chapter 2

The sway of the ship under Natalie was nearly as familiar as her own heartbeat, but her crashing thoughts kept her awake as she laid on the floor of the reeking cell. Her father was bound to know she was missing by now, and he had to have ships out scouring the seas for her. He would pay whatever ransom Michael demanded, and then she could sit in a rosewater bath and scrub away all the memories of her days in the dark cell, estranged from her family and the sun.

The creak of floorboards above her had Natalie shooting up, fearing the worst. Michael was coming for her, to punish her for not giving him the information he wanted. Her racing heart steadied, however, when Lucifer emerged from the shadows, his sharp features as soft as a whisper in the candle light.

“Come,” he said, unlocking the cell door. The command seemed more like a question, but Natalie was grateful for it all the same when she practically danced out of the cell.

The starry night was in full bloom above Natalie, the constellations spilling over the curves of the earth. If each of the stars fell into the hands of a human on earth, they would still outnumber the population on earth with their sisters in the sky. The sight filled her with longing for some distant place she had never set foot on, and the skies tasted bittersweet.

Her quiet observation was interrupted by Lucifer’s hand coming to rest on the small of her back. She could feel the heat through the scratchy linen shirt he wore, and she cursed her desire to seek more of his warmth.

Lucifer dipped his head, his breath fanning over her neck as he whispered, “Follow me.”

Natalie trailed after him without hesitation until they reached the tangle of ropes leading up to the conveniently empty crow’s nest. Fear furrowed Natalie’s brow as she stared up the expanse of rigging to the basket, and Lucifer held out his hand to her patiently.

After a long moment of Natalie debating in silence, she slipped her hand into his and he pulled her up into the thick of the ropes. His voice was low over the waves as he guided her movements, teaching her how to find her footing off the ground. Once she had established a rhythm, Natalie was enthralled at the way the wind played with her hair and she swore if she let go, she would take flight over the tilting seas.

A particularly rough lurch of the sea pulled Natalie’s gentle grasp from the ropes, and tore a sharp gasp from her lips when she felt the adrenaline of falling backwards. As soon as the gut wrenching sensation began, it ended and Natalie had never been more grateful for Lucifer’s bulky presence beside her. The strength in his warm hands supported Natalie after her stomach had tumbled to the ground without her, and she didn’t want him to let go of her. She didn’t dare loosen her grip on the front of his shirt as she grounded herself.

When she extended her breathless thanks, he merely nodded. His golden eyes were raging like the ocean and she could have drowned in all their secrets. The moonlight swathed his face in silk rather than steel, and she traced a white scar through Lucifer’s eyebrow with her finger. It was still pale in comparison to the older, tanned scars decorating his jaw and lower lip, and she frowned when she realized it must have been newer.

Lucifer let out a sharp breath at the touch, and grunted, “We’re almost there.”

Natalie cursed her agreement for the rest of the climb, but all her protests fell silent when her bare feet hit the wood of the crow’s nest. Heaven would feel small compared to the world around her, and the vastness of the painted ocean on all sides of her made her tremble. Her father would never be able to find her in the expanse of the seas, and all at once her cell felt infinitely smaller despite being out of it.

She would die on this ship waiting for her father who would never come. The realization made the pitch of the ship under her feet turn her stomach. She couldn’t catch her breath, and she leaned against the side of the crow’s nest, gasping in the pure sea air until she could taste the salt on her tongue.

It wasn’t until she felt the familiar warm hands on her arms that Natalie remembered she wasn’t alone. She couldn’t pick out his words over the endless waves of sorrow until Lucifer placed his hands on her face, forcing her to meet his eyes.

“Princess,  _Natalie,_ ” he said gently, as though he were coaxing the worries away from her, “Natalie, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“I’m going to die,” she whispered, fear singing through her veins as if the words alone would carry out the promise.

“No,” Lucifer breathed, “No you won’t. I’m here, I’m making sure you don’t.”

Natalie realized the salt on her tongue was from her tears, and Lucifer swiped one away with his thumb, “I’m sorry, Lucifer.”

They stood in silence a moment longer, and Lucifer merely pulled her closer to him while he told her the story of the constellation they called  _Cassiopeia._

* * *

The bite of the sea air was sharper the following night, and Lucifer confided in Natalie that they were headed to the Northern Isles in search of a hidden treasure their father had only spoken about in myths.

“I think it’s shite, but unfortunately Michael doesn’t give a damn about what I think,” Lucifer sighed, leaning back against the side of the crow’s nest.

Natalie was seated to the side of him, her leg pressed against his with his coat thrown around her shoulders. Exhaustion tugged at the corners of her expression and she hummed in response. Her face was turned skyward and she told him she was counting the stars so one day she could tell her descendants how many suns dot the night sky.

Eventually sleep won the war Natalie was waging, and her steady breathing was warm against Lucifer’s collarbone as he picked up where she left off.

Lucifer woke when the sky had just begun to dip into orange, the sun slowly waking like an ancient beast.

The sight of the blushing horizon set urgency blazing through Lucifer’s bones, and he grabbed Natalie’s shoulder, shaking her with enough force to have her blinking awake at him, “Natalie, Natalie wake up. Come on, we have to get you back to the cells.” The soft cant of his voice was laced with insistence and Natalie sat up, realizing where she was.

A glimpse of the sun was enough to bring tears to her eyes, and all her memories of sunrises seemed to pale in comparison to this one. Her cell was endlessly dark and biting cold compared to the warmth of the skies. She couldn’t go back, not after she’d tasted the sun again.

She clung to him, her nails digging into the skin of his forearms, “No, no.” She swallowed sobs with every plea, “Please don’t make me go, Lucifer.”

The bottomless sorrow drowning in her tears set his resolve teetering, but the fear of Michael’s wrath was a far greater pull.

“You must, Michael can’t know,” he said, his hands rubbing restlessly up her arms. His jaw was set in firm insistence, and Natalie reached a hand up to brush her palm against the rough stubble that had grown during the night.

When she spoke, it was in a whisper that Lucifer had to lower his face to hear, “I can’t go back, please. It’s killing me.” He felt each of her words against the skin of his cheek, and he cursed heaven and all the stars above when he felt his iron determination crumble into dust before her.

After a breathless moment, Lucifer helped Natalie to her feet in the small space. Once righted, Natalie looked across the horizon in vulnerable wonder, tracing the shape of the blushing clouds parting before the sun as if it was the last time she would see the skies wake.

“Come, quickly now,” Lucifer said, gentle coaxing Natalie down the rigging and back to earth.

With her feet back on the deck, the spell cast by the sun was broken, and Natalie scanned the deck rapidly, searching for any other men that would take her away. Her grip on Lucifer’s hand was bruising as he navigated her away from the hatch leading to the brig, and each creak of the ship had her glancing over her shoulder for any sign of Michael. Every heartbeat marked the seconds until she swore she would be discovered, but Lucifer didn’t let her go until they stood before a tall wooden door.

He fumbled hastily with a ring of keys, cursing when he dropped them. After an eternity, he finally slid a rusted key into the lock and swept her into a room that felt more like a home than anything she’d seen in days.

“Is this?” Natalie started to ask, looking around the room in amazement. It was far neater than she expected, and several worn books were stacked on a small bench beside his bed. The large bed was in front of a row of windows, and the red bedding looked so soft that Natalie thought she might never rise if she laid in it.

“My quarters,” Lucifer finished for her.

The dark wooden interior was spacious, and a hand drawn map decorated the majority of one of the walls with its yellowed parchment. Notes were scribbled around the islands, and symbols written in blood marked parts of the seas. A dagger was driven through an X, and Natalie traced the path to it with her fingertips.

She felt the presence of Lucifer behind her like a solid wall, and she could feel the warmth of him cradle her as he covered her hand with his own. The crimson word  _danger_ disappeared under their palms, and Natalie had never felt smaller in front of the world.

“You must stay here,” Lucifer said, but it sounded more like an apology than a warning. His chest brushed against her back, and she allowed herself the contact for a moment before turning to face him.

She knew of the unspoken perils of leaving his quarters, but her freedom seemed so near that she had to fight for it. However, all the protests died on her lips when she looked up at Lucifer. His expression was so soft that she nearly fell against him, and he steadied her with gentle hands and a pained look in his eyes. His lips were parted with silent fears, and he pressed his fingertips to hers to urge her to silence.

His fingers were rough and calloused from years of use, but they were so soft that they plucked all the argument from her lungs when he whispered, “Stay,” into her hair.

The door seemed impossibly heavy when Lucifer closed it behind him, and she traced the outline of her lips with a finger as she watched the door. The skin still tingled, but she stood in silence, fearing that speaking would steal the sensation away, and convince her she had dreamt it all. She was terrified of waking back in her cell.

After a beat, she heard the telltale click of the lock sliding into place, and she crept to the door, careful to be silent. She counted her breaths to keep time, and after half a dozen, she heard the doorframe groan as though Lucifer leaned his shoulder against it.

Another breath, then he let out a soft sigh, and mumbled, “What are you doing, Lucifer?”

Natalie turned to face the rest of the room and let out a matching groan of frustration at her new surroundings. It was merely another cage, albeit far cleaner.

* * *

She was unsure of how much time had passed, but Natalie had managed to fall asleep in a padded chair she turned to face the windows. The volume in her lap lay open on the third page where she had nodded off without realizing, lulled by the gentle rocking of the ship, and the warmth of the room.

The door slammed as Lucifer entered, startling Natalie awake and sending the book in her lap to the floor. Her chest rose and fell rapidly in alarm, but she relaxed seeing it was only Lucifer. She did the strangest thing then –  she smiled. The softness in her expression had Lucifer crossing his cabin in a few short strides to stand before her, and he hesitated a moment before reaching up to brush a thumb across her cheek.

“I’m sorry, princess,” he said so softly that Natalie wasn’t sure he spoke at all. “I hope you understand why you must stay.”

She covered his hand with hers and sighed, “I do.”

The admission was sore, and he wished she didn’t have to stay tucked out of sight. She deserved the sights of the sunrises and sunsets, and he desperately wished he could bottle them for her to keep close to her heart on dark nights.  

The skies had darkened, and Natalie walked towards a large wooden table that was crowded with papers and tools she couldn’t identify the uses of. She found the box of matches in the top drawer with the last of the fading light, and the gentle sound of a striking match coming to life seemed to echo around them.

She lit the candles scattered around the room carefully, coloring the room with the warm sunset colors of fire. Her eyes seemed to dance when she blew out the match at last, and she chewed on her bottom lip as Lucifer remained bitingly silent.

The wax of a candle dripped onto a compass, and Natalie pulled the instrument out of harm’s way, offering it to Lucifer in an open palmed gesture.

“Thank you,” she told him, her eyes holding his with an intensity that only Persephone herself could have matched, “Thank you for not making me go back.”

* * *

Sometime during the night Natalie had ended up sitting with her legs crossed on his bed, wearing a pout on her lips.

“You have to go to dinner,” she said slowly, her tone laced with persuasion, “and I need a bath. You bring the water and I could clean myself while you’re away.”

His expression was etched in stone as he stared her down. Hours could have passed as they locked in a battle of willpower, and his heavy stare weighed on her like a physical press.

After a breath more, Natalie let her expression soften and her voice was achingly gentle when she said, “Please.”

Lucifer grumbled each time he hauled in a bucket of boiling water, and when he deemed the metal tub in the corner full enough, he stormed out of the room without ceremony.

* * *

Her skin felt gloriously clean, and the water was nearly black when she finally stepped out of the tub. Searching the room, she pulled a linen cloth from a drawer to dry her skin and then a shirt from the same drawer to cover herself with. Her skin smelled rich and musky, but most importantly – clean. In absence of a comb, she brushed her fingers through her wet hair and let it fall in waves around her shoulders to dry.

She tossed the dead man’s shirt into the vile tub water, and wished his soul rest, wherever he was.

The temptation to curl beneath the rich bedding adorning the bed was strong, but she resisted, settling in the same chair she fell asleep in earlier. The flickering candlelight kept her company as she drew her knees up to her chest, pulling her bare feet off the floor. The lull of the ocean rocking the ship threatened to coax Natalie to sleep, and her eyelashes were fluttering when Lucifer opened the door again.

The lock clicked into place, and he removed the heavy coat from his shoulders and threw it over a wooden chair. The loose linen shirt he wore matched the one Natalie had taken from the drawer, and his gaze raked over her so carefully that she felt heat rise to her cheeks.

He sat down haphazardly on the edge of the bed, offering Natalie bites of food he had swiped for her. She ate and listened as he told her about Michael’s theatrics at dinner, ending his story with a flourish, his hands weaving through the air to recreate the flying plates. The motions drew her attention to marks on his hand, and she sat aside the cup she was holding.

Twin scars ran parallel on Lucifer’s right palm, and Natalie grabbed his hand, puzzling over it for a long moment before finally speaking, “Tell me about this scar.”

The request was soft, and his instinct was to run from her curiosity, to poke holes in it with anger and cruelty.

Instead, he called back on their deal, a scar for a secret.

“You have no more information I need, princess. This isn’t a fair trade.” He hoped the sarcasm would keep her at bay, but the inquisitive look written in her brow didn’t budge.

There was no malice in her entreaty, just well-meaning concern that burned him hotter than spite could. She did not know what the crew knew, and her ignorance was born of such purity that he did not want to be the one to crush it.

She traced the deep scars with a gentle finger, and the story bubbled out of him so suddenly that he hardly knew where he began.

“I caught the sword.” It sounded so simple when he said it like that. “I had bested Michael again, and that was the last straw for our father. He couldn’t have his eldest be a disgrace, and the easiest way to remedy that would be to destroy the competition.”

Lucifer paused, his head swimming with the memory of hatred burning in his own father’s eyes, but Natalie’s fingers stroking the same gentle path along his palm grounded him in the present. His father was dead. Lucifer had seen to it personally.

“I watched him exchange the blunted practice sword for his own sword, and I saw murder in his eyes before I understood what was happening. It would have been impossible for me to get my arm up fast enough to block the practiced, and soon to be deadly swing, so I held my hand up and caught the blade.”

His warm blood had trailed down his arm, dripping onto the deck and the toes of his boots, but he didn’t dare let go. The pain was blinding as it shot through to his core, threatening to buckle his knees. The practice sword Lucifer had been holding laid uselessly at his feet, his own stubborn blood further blunting the practice weapon. His whole life swam blood red before him and he couldn’t think of a minute in time that wasn’t coated with pain, pain inflicted at the hand of his own father. When this all ended, his father would be tried by the sun herself.

“Then Michael was there, shoving our father away from me. They had both fallen in the motion, and I followed them, picking up Father’s sword in the progress. It seemed only fitting that he should die at his own blade.” It was as if he was speaking to the memory instead of to Natalie, “And so he did.”

Lucifer remembered the tear of his father’s flesh, and the sickening weight of cutting into someone. Skin and bone gave way, spilling his father’s blood on the deck to mix with Lucifer’s own. His father’s blood had killed him. Lucifer had killed him.

His hands had never felt so dirty until that moment when Natalie held his them in her own. She listened to his story without interruption, and judgement had yet to pass through her eyes. When his mind was clear enough to meet Natalie’s gaze, she dipped her head to press her lips to the scars that decorated his palms.

The gesture stole his breath from his chest, and a violent shudder tore through his body at the light brush, but he didn’t pull away. Warmth pulsed from his fingertips to his very core, and his lips parted in wonder at the soft moment that he had stolen from the king of the very ocean they sailed across.

Lucifer’s chest rose and fell heavily, and he lifted his hand just enough to cup Natalie’s face. Her skin was like silk, so much softer than his weather-worn hands, and the smell of his earthy soap on her skin made his breath hitch. He stroked a rough thumb over her cheek, and her lips parted when she looked up at him through her dark lashes.

His own eyes fluttered shut, and the world fell silent around him when he pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was breathtakingly tender and Natalie gasped against him, making Lucifer pull back, worry welling up in him, as well as a heavy splinter of fear – fear he had done the one thing that he couldn’t fix. Killing his father had seemed less damning than the kiss, and he held his breath as Natalie’s wild eyes calmed. Her expression was tight, and her hands were balled up in her lap when she finally met Lucifer’s vulnerable gaze.

Then the hesitation written across Natalie’s brow dissolved like spun sugar, and she sat up from her crossed legged position to seal her lips against Lucifer’s. Her kiss had far more force behind it, and his hands went to Natalie’s thin waist to stabilize her as she leaned into him. Fire built inside the both of them, sparks turning to blazes as their chaste kisses turned to open mouth presses that tasted like freedom.

The fabric of her shirt was rough against Lucifer’s palms when she pressed against him, and Natalie reveled in the solidity of his chest below her fingertips. On the unsteady tides of an unseen ocean, Lucifer was the only place she could depend on to be constant, and the warmth of him against her skin could have lulled her to the very depths of the ocean.

She sighed into his mouth, and he chased her lips with his teeth when she pulled away. He could have drowned in her, and he cupped her face when he pressed a last, lingering kiss to her upturned mouth.

Natalie didn’t leave her perch in his lap, and whispered wonders against his lips. His eyes were half lidded, and he didn’t resist when she gently shoved at his shoulders to get Lucifer to lay down on the bed. His muscles had relaxed with her sweetness, and he barely found the strength to sit up and watch Natalie slowly rise from the bed to blow out the candles she had lit.

After what felt like an obscene amount of time, Natalie returned to the bed and pressed close to him in the darkness, catching his mouth once before she said, “Go to sleep.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is NSFW and contains explicit sexual material. Please do not read if you are under the age of consent. Thank you!

The morning came far too quickly, and the sun cut across the windows behind the bed, casting its light onto Natalie’s freckled cheeks. She had tucked herself into his chest during the evening, pressing her face to his collarbone and breathing in the smell of sea salt on his skin. His arm was wound tightly around her, keeping Natalie against his chest. The red blankets were wrinkled around them like the waves of the sea, but he swore her skin was far softer than the expensive velvets.

When she finally woke, it was slow until it wasn’t. Her eyes were wild when she shot up suddenly, her hands bracing against Lucifer’s chest as she struggled to recall where she was. She relaxed when the memories of Lucifer and his scorching kiss came back, but she stayed on her knees, staring out of the big windows with open-mouth wonder.

Her voice trembled with some far away sadness that gave way to awe, “It’s been so long since I woke up to the sun.”

The ocean caught each angle of the sunrise, reflecting oranges and yellows across its surface like a mosaic. The skies were kind that morning, and the waves followed suit, gently rocking the ship as the sky pinked with the attention.

“Stay,” Lucifer’s voice was so soft she almost missed it among the creaking ship, and he spoke again, “You don’t have to go back to the cell. You can stay.”

Natalie finally tore her gaze from the ocean, and fell back into her previous place beside Lucifer. Their bodies slotted together, and her lips were hot when she pressed them against the hollow of his throat. His large hands were warm on the slight curve of her hip, shallower than she was used to from the endless nights in the brig, and she shifted closer to Lucifer, raising her face to meet his gaze.

Something hot burned in Lucifer’s eyes, but when he kissed Natalie again, it was filled with bruising tenderness that stole all the lingering loneliness that hid in her lungs. The softness quickly gave way to biting fervor, and she gasped into his mouth. Every kiss tasted like  _more_ and his fingers dug into her skin, pulling her closer until her skin burned against his.

The fire licking off his body was threatening to consume Natalie, and when he shifted her to lay under him, she caught his face in her perpetually delicate hands. The heated look she gave him made the muscles in his stomach tighten and he took her lips in a rough kiss that had their teeth bumping together. Lucifer relished the pain and swept his tongue into her mouth, tasting more of her than he had the previous night.

His dreams were all of her, and the damned shirt she wore. It was from his own collection, and the rough linen against her soft skin played games with his thoughts well into the night. One of his hands swept down her body to find the hem of it, slipping his fingers beneath the fabric. She was so pliant under his touch, and her head fell back onto the mattress so he could trail soft kisses down her jaw to her neck, teasing her rapid pulse with his teeth.

Lucifer’s name left Natalie’s lips in a sharp exhale, and the gentle nips on her throat turned bruising. Her arms went to his shoulders, digging into fabric, and he broke away for an excruciating moment to remove his shirt.

His torso was littered with scars, and Natalie moved to sit up, tracing some of the white marks with her fingertips. His dark skin was made darker from the brutal sun, and the pale scars stood out boldly on his skin. Natalie pressed her lips to a broad scar above his heart, then followed the motion on other scars that only framed him as more attractive than he already was.

After a moment of indulgence, Lucifer tipped Natalie’s face up and kissed her with all the unspoken stories of his scars lingering on his tongue, and gently laid her back down. Her vibrant red hair challenged the blood red of his sheets, and he tangled a hand in the waves as he chased her mouth.

The heat of him above her, but just out of reach, had Natalie digging her nails into Lucifer’s shoulders to urge him closer. Understanding her silent plea, Lucifer pressed some of his weight against her, and she arched up to meet him. Her eagerness made his muscles feel tight and she turned her head to the side to allow him access to her neck.

He took the cue gratefully, and followed the gentle bites he left on her skin with his tongue, making Natalie’s breathing heavy as she gasped for air between the seconds of pain and tenderness. The drag of her breasts across Lucifer’s broad chest had her nipples tightening at the contact, and he palmed a peak through the fabric of her shirt. His thumb flicked the hardened tip and a moan caught in Natalie’s throat, making her jerk against him.

Eventually, his hand dipped lower, finding the hem of the shirt once again, and slipping his fingers up the outsides of her soft thighs. His hand continued its trail, teasing along her legs until he found her bare hips.

Halting in his path, he lifted his head from the crook of her neck to look at her with dark eyes. “No under things?”

Her chest was heaving up and down, and her face was flushed deliciously red when she answered, “They were filthy.”                

“Of course, princess,” Lucifer nodded, a breathless laugh tumbling out of him.

She matched the grin on his lips with her own, and the kiss they shared left them both gasping for air. Natalie’s eyes were hazy, and her heaving chest was flushed with the same desire that coursed through Lucifer’s brain. Her red hair fell around her in modest waves, concealing the scandalous bites he left on her slender neck.

Her body sang for him, and Lucifer wanted nothing more than to oblige her. He shifted to sit further down on the bed, and he replaced his wandering hands on her thighs with his mouth.

The first press of his lips to the hem of the fabric was enough to send a jolt through Natalie, and the ragged gasp that spilled out into his cabin poured desire into his stomach like warm honey.

Lucifer eased the shirt up her thighs an inch at a time, kissing the pale skin as it was revealed to the sunlight. She watched him, anticipation eating at her expression.

When he finally reached the apex of her thighs after the longest eternity to have burned in front of her, he dipped his head to kiss her hipbones. They were sharp and spoke of the loneliness that had begun to carve her bones from her skin while she was locked away.

She wore lust so pretty, her lips falling open in panting expectation when he gently teased her thighs apart with the pads of his fingertips. Natalie’s legs spread slowly, revealing every intimate detail of herself as the shirt she wore bunched up around her hips. The bareness of her was so breathtaking, he merely took in the sight of her for a moment. Her arousal made the inside of her thighs shine, and the moisture clung to her center, making Lucifer groan at the sight.

His touch was painstakingly gentle when he dragged a finger over her slit, the slickness of her tempting him to press the digit into her. The soft pressure was enough to pull a sharp gasp from Natalie, and her hips canted forward, unconsciously seeking more of his touch. Lucifer obliged the silent plea, settling between Natalie’s open thighs to taste her, his tongue flicking delicately over the pink bud of her clit.

Her head fell back against the mattress as the probing touched turned confident, and her breathy moans echoed each stroke of his tongue. The bucking of Natalie’s hips was free of any shyness, and her unabashed pleas for  _more_ were answered by Lucifer’s grip on her thighs tightening.

Relinquishing his grip on one of her legs, Lucifer crept to her center, slowly easing a finger into her. The added pressure had Natalie arching off the bed, his name tangled up in the knot of her gasps. He let his teeth graze slowly against her clit when he pressed a second finger into her, working against the tightness.

Lucifer lavished attention on her clit like she was a precious treasure he was determined to devour. The flat of his tongue dragged languidly across her before focusing on the sensitive bud, teasing it with alternating rhythms of gentleness and firm presses. Natalie’s fingers tangled through Lucifer’s hair to grab a handful when he kept a heavy pattern of attention on her clit.

“Don’t stop, oh god,  _don’t stop,”_ Natalie breathed the command through moans that set Lucifer’s fingers shaking with want.

He was happy oblige her, his tongue working against her as the tremble in her thighs built. Natalie arched off the bed, grinding her hips against Lucifer’s pliant mouth, and she felt the rumble of his growl through her whole frame. He slid his fingers out of her to hold her hips down, and she would have whined at the loss if his tongue hadn’t set a new, damning pace.

The orgasm that crashed over her shook her whole frame, and Lucifer’s hands on her hips were not enough to stop the trembles that tilted her world sideways. The unrelenting waves of it swept Natalie under, and it was all she could do to choke out Lucifer’s name in a litany of prayers that she held to. She laid still in the moments following, and Natalie’s chest heaved with such violence as she climbed back to the surface of the ocean.

Her limbs were weak as Lucifer climbed back up the bed, pressing a soft kiss to Natalie’s mouth that tasted of her. She laughed against his lips, and pressed her face to his neck in momentary embarrassment. Lucifer could feel her face heat against his skin, and he pressed a kiss to Natalie’s hairline in amused wonder.

The heat of her skin made his body tight with desire, and Natalie’s breath against his collarbone fanned the flames that lived in the pit of his stomach. His hands were gentle when he tilted her face back up to kiss her. The gentleness quickly gave way to biting kisses, and Lucifer didn’t protest when Natalie shoved at his shoulders to get him to lay down.

She settled her weight right on top of his hips, and the laced-up fabric of his breeches was the only thing separating them. Her shirt pooled like silk around her hips and Lucifer would have been content to watch her until his days vanished into eternity.

Her lips were warm when she leaned down to kiss him, and then continued to trail open mouth kisses down his jaw and neck until she met the open expanse of his broad chest. Her fingernails bit into his skin when she nipped at his collarbone. The motion made Lucifer’s hips buck upwards, pulling moans from both of them as the warmth of him dragged along her center.

He slid a hand underneath her shirt, reaching upwards to cup a small breast in his large hand. His calloused thumb brushing against her nipple pulled a wordless gasp from her, and his head fell back against the bed heavily.

“My shirt,” he groaned out, “That’s my shirt. Natalie –  _fuck –_ do you know the temptation you are? If I didn’t know better, I would swear you were a siren sent to ruin me.”

Natalie dipped her head down to press a kiss to his mouth that was more tongue than lips, and he chased her when she sat back up. She pulled the shirt off from over her head and let a knowing smile spread on her lips when she grinded her soaking sex against him, making his hands flutter to her hips and press her harder against him.

“Such a fucking tease, princess,” Lucifer choked out between rolls of Natalie’s hips, and his fingers dug into her hips so hard he feared he might leave bruises on her pale skin.

She leaned down to kiss him once more, and whispered, “Don’t let me be,” against his lips.

His powerful frame surged up so quickly that Natalie lost herself for a moment, reeling when her back was suddenly against the sheets, and Lucifer was hovering against her, one hand working the ties on his pants. When the fabric had fallen away, curiosity stole Natalie’s hesitation as she wrapped her hand around the swollen length of him. She traced her thumb over the weeping head, and Lucifer was quick to swat her hand away, gently easing her back down.

“Are you ready, princess?” The question was shockingly soft, and his eyes held hers as Natalie nodded quickly. She was so beautiful, and freckles dusted along her cheeks and chest like constellations, and he wanted to learn every dip and curve of her bare body and mark her like a treasure map.

“Yes,” She breathed, “Yes, Lucifer.”

His eyes never left hers as he sunk into her, and he watched the moments of pain on her face melt into pleasure as he slid in and out of her slowly. She was so ready for him, and the thick press of him inside of her had Natalie searching for something to hold onto as the rest of her world faded into the background, leaving only the impression of Lucifer. Her nails raked down his back, clinging to him like she would fall apart without him.

His breathing was staggered and heavy, and Natalie could feel the ardent tremble that sent shudders through his frame, pulling her closer and closer until his breath became hers and their pleasure intertwined between them like creeping ivy. An unnamed  _something_  was growing between them too quickly to stop, and they pressed together before the uneven waves of ocean could pull them apart.

The gentle pace built to something passionate, and Natalie pressed her hips down to meet the heavy thrusts. White sparks exploded across her vision and her back arched off the bed with the sudden pleasure that had her tightening around Lucifer and crying out. The broken pleas of his name were swallowed by Lucifer’s lips as he gripped Natalie’s hips, mercilessly pressing into her.

Lucifer’s groan was matched with Natalie’s own when he dipped a hand between them to tease her clit. Her body sang below him, shaking with bone deep desire that leapt to a precipice when he sank as far as he could into her. She held his hand against her clit as she jerked her hips to meet his, and all at once her muscles went taunt when she was swallowed by her orgasm.

Her legs shook under his fingertips, and the squeeze of her around him had Lucifer following her, grunting obscenities into her skin as he came with little warning. Natalie could feel the warmth of him spilling into her, and Lucifer swore he must have been caught in a hurricane named after the princess.

His name hung on her lips like fresh fruit when he kissed her, and his veins sang with some sideways affection that ached like a sunburn.  

The sun tilted further on Natalie’s face as she laid bare on his bed, his seed mixing with her own arousal and dripping on the sheets from between her legs. Fingertip shaped bruises littered her narrow hips, and he could have traced the slow forming marks on her neck with his lips all over again. Instead, he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and stood, tugging on his breeches once again.

Natalie lifted her head lazily and watched him dress hastily, his eyes flicking to the windows and the angle of the sun they were casting across the sheets. Concern knit itself in Natalie’s brow, and when Lucifer perched on the end of the bed to pull his boots on, she caught his arm.

“Don’t go,” she said softly, her eyes watching his face, “Stay.”

Pain lingered behind his carefully schooled expression as he took her hand and kissed the back of it, “I must go. Michael is expecting me.”

Her eyes stormed with reluctant understanding, and she watched him go. She lit candles solemnly as loneliness flared up in her as surely as matches did when struck. The hallowing look that echoed in her frame haunted Lucifer as soon as he locked the door behind him.

He swore this would be the last time she begged him to stay.

* * *

Lucifer combed his fingers through his hair, attempting to sweep back the dark tangle that had somehow gotten far too long in his negligence. When he finally reached the deck, Michael was pacing back and forth, his loose shirt fluttering around his narrow frame as he stomped a familiar pattern back and forth.

Michael’s thunderstorm eyes met Lucifer’s with all the violence of the pitching sea on nights with no sky, and a shark tooth smile spread over Michael’s lips, dangerous in its intrigue and intent.  

He waltzed over to meet Lucifer halfway, each one of his steps purposeful and filled with such an excess of practiced grace that Lucifer’s pragmatic and heavy stride seemed clumsy in comparison. One of Michael’s hands gripped Lucifer’s shoulder, his fingers digging cruelly into the skin as a warning.

“I tried to pay our little princess a visit this morning,” Michael spat the word  _princess_ at Lucifer’s feet like a curse, “And imagine my surprise when she wasn’t there.”

Lucifer’s granite expression betrayed nothing, and he didn’t bother to pull away from Michael’s bruising hold. “Strange.”

Michael kept on, “I had the ship searched, naturally. Nothing, I’m afraid. And I don’t quite think our prize jumped,” he trailed off, his eyes flicking towards the side of the ship as he clicked his tongue. “So I’m only left with one thought here. You must be hiding her, dear brother.”

Lucifer opened his mouth to protest, but Michael smothered his arguments by grabbing Lucifer’s face and pulling it down to his own height, “Don’t try to deny it. There’s no shame in taking a pretty girl to bed, as long as you put them back into their cages a little more broken than before.”

Anger blazed in Lucifer’s golden eyes, and the heat of it surged to his fingertips – it would be embarrassingly easy to make Michael crumple at his feet. He swallowed the thought with a thick breath and shoved Michael’s hand off his shoulder, the skin feeling dirty where Michael had attempted to intimidate him.

“I hope it doesn’t alarm her that I’ve sent some of our finest to fetch her from your room – terrible business we’re in, but the whore should be punished.” Michael shrugged, as if he was merely discussing the winds or the tides. “After all, she did seduce my first mate.”

His words were emphasized, poison dripping from the accusation that rang true.  There was no room to run from Michael’s tightly stretched anger, and it smothered the crew under it choking oppression.

Centuries could have passed while Lucifer waited on the deck, his heart keeping time of the seconds before the bottom of the ocean would lean up to swallow him whole. It would be a fitting punishment for a selfish man like himself, tasting the one forbidden fruit placed in his care.

He heard Natalie before he saw her, and two nameless men had punishing grips on her arms, making the shackles she wore on her wrists chime like bells as they dragged her onto the deck. She squinted helpless against the aggressive sun, and struggled against the crew holding her in place.

When her eyes met his, she choked out, “Lucifer,” in a strange tilt of relief mixed with panic as two more men restrained Lucifer. Her bare feet shuffled along the rough deck, and she looked heartbreakingly vulnerable wearing nothing but his shirt that fell to her knees. The loose lacing exposed her throat and the top of her chest, flushed with fear.

Everything in him screamed to go to her, but Michael’s men on either side of him held him fast in place as Michael strode between them. His head shook back and forth slowly, assessing the situation with a strange sense of triumph on his face. Michael raised his hand to Natalie, but remarkably, she didn’t flinch as he struck her. Instead, Lucifer was the one to struggle and protest against the iron hands keeping him in place.

“You bastard,” Lucifer growled through gritted teeth, “Let her go and face me! Don’t take this out on her.”

“You better watch your tongue, brother,” Michael said softly, looking at Natalie like she was a spooked animal, and she looked the part. Lucifer’s shirt swallowed her small frame, and her hair fell in tangled waves around her shoulders, making her look lost as her eyes darted around wildly.

Michael stroked his fingers gently over the bruises decorating Natalie’s neck, his touch almost lovingly gentle as he loomed over her with the dark look of a hunter. When he sealed his lips to Natalie’s in a rough motion, the kiss bordered on violent as Natalie recoiled and quickly turned her head. She spat at his feet, her lips curling in disgust and Michael seethed at her, one hand coming to grab a handful of her hair while the other gripped her face hard enough to hold her mouth open.

“You’d refuse me, princess?” The title dripped like poison from Michael’s lips, seeping into Natalie’s skin where he touched her, “I should just take what Lucifer took, but don’t worry, I’ll be far rougher with you.”

Natalie’s words were quiet, but sharp as she spoke around his grip on her face, “He didn’t take anything. I gave myself to him.”

“Oh, yes,” Michael tutted, sardonic pity sticking to his teeth, “I heard you giving yourself to him all morning. Don’t deny it, whore.”

“I don’t,” Natalie barked, and Michael struck her across the face with the back of his hand, the golden rings he wore biting savagely into her skin.

Lucifer howled like an animal when Natalie whimpered in pain, shrinking under Michael’s touch as fear spread through her frail form. Adrenaline coursed through Lucifer, hot under his skin as he twisted a single arm free, using it to shove the other man to the ground, kicking him in the ribs to keep him there. He surged forward, crashing into to Michael and sending them both tumbling to the floor in a heap.

He struck the twisted smile from Michael’s face with a cruel fist, spitting down at him, “You’re mad because you couldn’t control her – you couldn’t control  _us._ You’re still trying to prove yourself worthy of command, and you can’t even get a fucking prisoner to obey you.”

“Shut up!” Michael thrashed underneath Lucifer’s pinning weight, anger lighting his expression red. Malevolence burned in the blue of his eyes, but Lucifer’s gaze was on Natalie, searching her shocked expression for any trace of pain as the men holding her pulled her away from the tangle of the brothers.

“You’re pathetic.” Lucifer said, his tone conversational as if murder and bloodlust didn’t boil beneath his skin. He gripped the front of Michael’s shirt and wrenched him upwards, staring down his nose at him as his next words dripped with poison and disdain, “No wonder Dad needed to kill me, even when you had me restrained, I’m still stronger than you.”

Lucifer stared at his older brother with the same bored disappointment as an entomologist staring at beetles hollowed out for display, and Michael felt he might disappear in the cracks of the woodwork.

Instead, he twisted, throwing Lucifer’s weight off of him, and scrambled to his feet, reaching for the sword hanging uselessly at his side. Lucifer felt the sharp tip of the weapon catch the edge of his shirt, ripping it with the motion, and he straightened quickly.

“Never been interested in fair,” Lucifer chided, reaching for a sword one of the men holding him had been carrying. The steel sang in his hands, humming a symphony as Lucifer balanced the heavy sword in his palm. The familiar ache of the hilt against his scars reassured him with a sick reminder of his training, days beating down like heat against his neck as his muscles protested the exercise.

After a beat, their blades met midair, crashing together in a cacophony that drowned out the sound of his heartbeat in his ears, and Lucifer could have sighed at the familiarity of the dance. Michael withdrew, bringing down the sword in another heavy blow that Lucifer could block without flinching. All of Michael’s flaws and tells were still the same – still aggressive and impulsive, fighting with his face as much as his body.

Lucifer’s face was even as Michael’s blade hit his over and over. It was like Lucifer was a marble statue of himself, immovable when faced with destructive forces, chaotic and manic in its offense. Michael struck out again, his form rigid in an unnatural arc and Lucifer let the blow find home against his upper arm. He felt the blood but not the pain, and his shirt stuck to the cut as Lucifer lifted his sword again.

A scream shot through the air, and Lucifer whipped his head to the side wildly, searching for Natalie’s face. Panic filled her green eyes, and her face was lit red with her screams. The skin on her arms where the men held her was irritated, and she was still struggling to break free, but Lucifer wished she wouldn’t, if only to avoid being caught in the middle of the violent song and dance with his brother.

Terror seized her suddenly, making her frame rigid as she shouted, “No!”

The warning came a moment too late, and Lucifer felt the blade meet his thigh and bite into the flesh. The surprise, more than the pain, drew a gasp from his lips, and Lucifer stumbled backwards as Michael advanced, somehow still smiling despite the blood from his split lip dripping down his chin.

Natalie screamed for Lucifer as Michael strode towards him, and his name hung in the air like a prayer as he surged forward to meet Michael somewhere in the middle. It was her face he saw, suspended between them and haunted with fear, and he swung his sword at Michael savagely.

The steel tore into Michael’s skin, and Lucifer relished the blow like wine. Michael heaved out a string of curses and shoved Lucifer away with a heavy hand on his chest. Lucifer didn’t hesitate, and he swept his blade up again, this time sinking it into the skin of Michael’s side, and it tore past the loose shirt he wore, spilling the vivid blood from his tanned skin. The blow had Michael gritting his teeth as he stabilized himself slowly, panting under the pain and fatigue that had begun to reflect in his expressive eyes, and Lucifer could have laughed.

The same mistakes damned Michael every time, and Lucifer could see the edge of fear cracking the smile Michael wore like armor. Uncertainty burned cerulean and Michael glanced around the deck, as though to weigh his options for exit, but his eyes landed on Natalie instead. She had yet to be silent, and still struggled to break free, cursing and shouting a litany of expressions that didn’t quite befit a princess.

“ _Her_ ,” Michael hissed, his words curling around Natalie like a python, “She’ll win us no ransom if we return her ruined. Kill her.”

The order had barely left Michael’s lips when Lucifer grunted, slamming the hilt of the sword into Michael’s stomach hard enough to knock him to the floor. Lucifer towered above his older brother, the tip of his sword dragging heavily over the sensitive skin of Michael’s throat. Blood from his side and arm leeched onto the deck, but somehow he was still smiling like he had the upper hand.

A scream from Natalie pulled Lucifer’s attention to where she was struggling between the two men who seemed to be taking the order to kill Natalie differently. They had released their grip on Natalie to duel with each other, short swords clashing against each other noisily.

Natalie flinched, horror painted across her face. The fear relaxed when Lucifer caught Natalie’s eye, and he longed to go to her, to forget all the fights and wars that had the crew picking sides. His thumb stroked over the warm steel of his sword hilt, and the fight had him exhausted all at once, leaving him craving the softness of Natalie’s skin like a balm for his soul.

In the beats of distraction, Michael had scrambled to his feet, wincing like a dying animal. He left his sword where it was, soaking in the blood he was painting the deck with. In his bloodied hand was a dagger, and he gripped the hilt of it as if it was the only thing keeping him grounded as he stumbled towards Natalie.

Michael’s hold on Natalie’s arm was bruising, and he made a disgruntled noise and huffed, “Worthless crew.”

His hands were rough as he turned her in on himself, the blade of the dagger pressing to her throat when he laughed darkly in her ear. The memory of her navigator’s blood spilling onto the deck arrested Natalie, her pulse thundering under the press of steel.

“You can’t protect her, Lucifer. I’ll always win.” Michael shouted the words past Natalie’s ear, and she flinched away from him, but had nowhere to escape.

Lucifer’s eyes were wide as he watched the scene play out. He was only inches from Natalie, yet he felt miles away from reaching her. The thought of breaking each and every one of Michael’s fingers as punishment for touching Natalie had his own fingers twitching against the hilt of his sword. The blood pounding in Lucifer’s ears was deafening and drowned out the boasts Michael waved around like the ship’s colors, but he didn’t dare move or breathe, fearing Michael’s reaction and misdirected anger if Lucifer startled him.

“Let her go,” Lucifer said, careful to keep his tone soft and even. He raised his free hand and lowered the sword he was holding to the ground, tip toeing towards Michael with his palms held up in surrender.

Michael tightened his grip on Natalie in response, making her breath catch, “You know I can’t.” Lucifer kept easing towards Michael, never looking away from his brother’s crazed eyes. “She’s the reason we’re in this whole mess, this  _whore.”_

“Michael,” Lucifer snapped, his brow furrowing in boiling anger. “Let her go.” It was framed as a demand this time, all pleading snapped away from Lucifer’s tone, and the challenge went unnoticed by Michael.

“She caused this!” He continued, blue eyes wide, as if his own explanation would justify the bloodshed. The words were laced with accusation that Natalie couldn’t fight off, and the pressure of the knife against her neck caused a thin line of blood to stain the fabric of her white shirt.

The sight of the crimson on the collar of his shirt bit to the deepest part of Lucifer’s soul, and he surged forward, seizing Michael’s discarded sword in his haste. He grimaced as his brother’s sticky blood smeared on his hand and wrist like war paint. The decorated blade caught the sunlight, displaying the precise engraving along the sharpened edge of the sword – a beautiful work of craftsmanship given to Michael as their father’s last gift. It sunk easily into Michael’s stomach, slicing through bone and tissue so gracefully that Lucifer shuddered as he pulled the blade out and tossed it to the ground like it had burned him.

The sound of his brother’s tearing flesh drowned out the roaring ocean and Natalie’s scream as the dagger fell away from her neck and she realized what happened. Michael sank soundlessly to his knees, finally collapsing on the deck at Lucifer’s feet.

“ _You_  caused this,” Lucifer said, his tone apologetic even as his brother laid at his feet dying.

Lucifer started down at Michael, and the blood spilling around him seemed like it would fill the world until they all drowned in it. Somehow the deck felt achingly silent, and Natalie met Lucifer’s dark eyes, now filled with the quiet buzz of emotion drawing memories across his vision like heavy curtains. The silence tasted dark and bitter but somehow, somehow, felt free.

* * *

The deck was hot against Natalie’s bare feet, and she leaned against the side of the ship, watching the ocean below her dance underneath the sun’s generous light. Lucifer stood at the helm, his attentions on Natalie rather than charting a course to the stars to return her to Apollo himself, for a girl as bright as her could only be the descendent of mythology.

She had spent so much time in the sun that her cheeks were pink from sunburn, and more and more freckles dotted her face and shoulders by the hour, but Lucifer didn’t dare warn her against too much time in the sun. Natalie had sorely missed the skies as her constant companion, and she stayed in the sunny spots of the deck even as she wandered up towards Lucifer.

She reclined against a wooden railing and looked at Lucifer’s tight posture for a moment before taking a deep breath, “I need to go visit my father. I’ll just check in so he knows I’m not dead and we can leave right away, I promise.”

“You don’t need to promise me anything, darling.” Lucifer said, soothing Natalie’s worry and silencing her nervous rambling, “I’ll take you wherever you desire.”

“And then what?” Natalie asked, abandoning her spot against the railing to press against Lucifer’s side. She relished the feeling of his arm around her waist, and she let herself relax against him fully.  

Lucifer kissed the top of her head, and tapped his finger on the curve of her hip as he thought, “And then I’ll suppose we’ll see what the sun decides.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is for astarisms! She was the first place winner of a giveaway I did on tumblr! You can find us both on tumblr, our URLs are the same as our usernames on here.


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